Ohio State vs Oregon

Hello everyone, I was just sitting here thinking about Ohio State vs some of the other better teams in the country. Then I started thinking about OSU and Oregon.. How does everyone else think this game would play out. I think if Ohio State's offense vs Indiana and Ohio States's defense vs Penn St both showed up that it would be a pretty close game. Now I realize that Oregon's offense is absolutely incredible but I would definitely think it would be an interesting game. What is everyone else's thoughts? I'm sorry but this 200 word limit is a little too much for this question so I'm just going to say something about myself. I'm 21 years old and have been following the Bucks religiously ever since 2001. I currently serve in the World's greatest Air Force in OHIO. I've been in for three and a half years. I've been following elevenwarriors for quite sometime now and just recently joined. I respect the opinion of everyone and greatly enjoy reading everyones thoughts about our Ohio State Buckeyes. I can be very biased with the bucks and will debate with anyone about them. Nothing gets me fired up when it comes to debating College football. With that said. GO BUCKS!!

"Played a complete game"- They really haven't done this yet, plus USC scored some garbage time TDs I believe. Also USC has the best WR duo in the country. Yes we have a great 1-2 punch in Miller-Hyde, but I feel like Oregon's defense would be ready to face our offense, as they face a better version of it in practice.

Asking this Ohio State team to stop Oregon's offense would be like asking the wind to keep John Daly from smacking it 370 yards.
The way to beat Oregon is to eat clock and stop plays on the edge. Our offense isn't built to eat clock, it's built to score quickly and often. Our defense has been unable to limit the big plays on the edge all season...against teams that would probably score less than 10 points on Oregon. If Oregon finds their groove early, there is literally no adjustment that you can make that will be adequate...the defenders will be out of position on every play. Let's just say that I'm glad we don't have to find out this year.

OSU doesn't have the linebackers to play with Oregon's offense this year. All I can envision is the 1st Indiana offensive play happening all day.
OSU could hold their own on offense vs The Duck D.
I would agree William 56-35 sounds about right.

I do agree with these posts as well.. But if some magic happened and we possibly blocked a punt for a TD and had a few turnovers and we not turn it over once. I think it would be close.. But yes our offense would have to be perfect.

This came up last week in a debate with some friends. I'm pretty certain we'd get smoked on the defensive side...probably have a hard time keeping them under 50. We'd score some points too, but not enough to keep up.
Next year.

Three-four weeks ago, I would have been one of the first to say that we're lucky to be playing in a mediocre conference otherwise we'd be a game or two above .500. I was really nervous that we we're going to get exposed in Happy Valley, I thought Nebraska would be dificult, I thought Illinois would be a thorn in our side and give us a run, and I was terrified for us to go to Camp Randall (still just slightly uneasy).
Now, not so much, I expect to trash Wisky and make the 3rd quarter "Jump Around" so quiet you could hear a mouse fart, and I am pretty confident that no matter what Scum throws at us, we'll handle it. Point is...I'm supremely more confident in our team as a whole now than I was even three weeks ago. I think we woke up after the Purdue loss win. I think our D is starting to play with that swagger we've been looking for, and our O is a serious force 75% of the time.
It's clear to me that our team has taken major strides in the past few weeks and are looking to greatly improve into next season. Braxton's even showing signs that he can sling it downfield as well as Meyer's advertised. I think by the end of the season we'll start to see a Buckeye team that can run with just about anyone (exception being a probable loss to 'Bama).

I think Our D would hold at times...our D this year and last year HAS resembled (at times) our D's of past years. But I would expect a similar result to the USC-Oregon game last week. We simply would not be able to keep up. Yes, we have a good O this year, but it always seems to have a quarter or two that it does very little.
Agreed with earlier comments that the reason we OWNED Oregon in Rose Bowl a few years back was that our D rocked, and our offense sustained drives, and Tressel-ball was able to prevail. I just don't see it this year.
Would LOVE to see Bama and Oregon play. I still think Bama wins (ref: Auburn vs. Oregon recently), but it'd be interesting!

I think our defense would be better suited to stop Alabama than Oregon. Honestly we match up better against teams like Notre Dame and Alabama than we do Oregon and Kansas State.
Using a game that happened in the past as reference is pretty poor, especially in regards to this Oregon team. They have possibly their best O-line in school history, which has been their achilles heel as they have previously been dominated by solid defensive fronts. This Oregon team, in my mind, is on a completely different level from any other Oregon team we have seen. They don't play good-great defense to win, but you don't need a good-great defense to win (Examples: 2010 Auburn). Their offense however may be the best in NCAA history. I think the telling thing for me about this Oregon offense is that Nick Saban is afraid of it. He had that press conference where he even mentioned how the no huddle shouldn't be allowed, which in my mind is him conceding that it would be very hard for his defense to stop Oregon's no huddle spread. I think that if Oregon plays Alabama they finally have the hogs up front to deal with Alabama's front 7, and Oregon then of course has the fastest backfield/skill players in the country.

I honestly think it would be ugly. Ohio State could score some points, but the D just isn't good enough to stop Oregon. I don't think Oregon is truly one of the top 2 teams, but a lot of people do. If people believe Oregon could give Bama a game, I don't know how they'd also think we'd give Oregon a game or beat Oregon.

I really think we'd match up better with Alabama than Oregon. Our defense is more suited for playing against their offense. I also think that Alabama's O-line was way overhyped coming into this season.

They had a defense that was significantly better with guys like Casey Mathews and TJ Ward. While I agree that it's nothing like this years team, that's mostly because their defense was that much better.

The offseason begins when your season ends. Even then there are no days off.

The D struggled with Purdue in 09. That 09 Purdue team wasn't as skilled as the 09 Oregon team Ohio State faced. Regardless if Oregon is better than they were then, the point was no one gave Ohio State a shot to win that game. Look how it turned out.

Oregon hasn't faced a QB like Braxton. Similar to Oregon not having faced anyone like Pryor. JT was also the best coach that team had gone up against. It wouldn't be a stretch at all to say Urban is the best coach that Oregon would face.

"YOLO" = I'm about to do something extremely ignorant/stupid & I need an excuse to do it.

This team plays up to its level of competition. Given a month to prepare, this team could beat Oregon. Tired of seeing all the "Mr. Negatives" just say "WESUCKWESUCKWESUCKWESUCK" over and over again. (Well, it wasn't along THOSE lines, but hypothetically...)
C'mon everyone. Let's be positive!

The offseason begins when your season ends. Even then there are no days off.

Its not about being positive or negative its about being realistic! Yes if we played them I would HOPE we beat them, but truth be told we dont have a top 5 team this year and thats just the honest truth. No way in hell we could beat Oregon with this team. I really dont see how anybody in their right mind could watch Oregon play then watch our defense play and think we could stand a chance. Dont get me wrong I love my Bucks but come'on we struggled with Purdue! Oregons offense is the real deal and our defense just doesnt have the speed to keep up with them. That game would get out of hand really fast. I dont even wanna think about our defense trying to stop Oregon. Maybe in a few years but as of now, HELL NO!!

This might sound crazy, but I think we'd have a better chance at beating Alabama than Oregon. We just match up better. I think Bama does things on offense hat aren't as troublesome for our defense. I am certain our offense is better than anybody Bama has played this year. We could score against them.
Oregon is probably the worst matchup for us among the undefeateds. I think we smack Notre Dame- their style on offense is fine for our D- and have a chance to beat KState.
in fact, I'd rather play Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina in order than play Oregon right now. I think we'd go 4-1 against that group with one slip up along the way. I'm sure people are goin to say I'm crazy, but it's about this year's matchups, not anything that's happened in previous years. Our offense can keep us in a game with anyone so we can win any game against more the more traditional offenses that our defense plays better against.
i'd say we lose to Oregon by something like 63-49, with one of our TDs being a late non-factor.

I actually think it would be a closer game than people think. When Oregon struggles with teams, they typically get handled in the trenches when they are on offense. By design there is always one d linemen free in their backfield (the guy they read off), but they struggle when defenses get additional penetration. I think we'd be able to do that with Hank in the middle and Williams or Spence setting the edge, occasional LB blitzes, and Boren filling the hole hard in the middle of the field. Safety tackling would be pretty huge, but they seem to have gotten much better since Barnet came back.
I think it would end up being a bit of shootout in spite of the above, but not like 62-56. I think we would actually get bitten by the random offensive disappearance that we mention every week, but has only almost cost us one game (Purdon't). The offense takes half a quarter off in the first, we'd fall behind, claw our way back, but just come up a little bit short.
I think we probably lose a close one 38-35.

How many people gave us a chance to beat Wisconsin last year? Myself included didn't have much hope for it but I attended the game just because it would be spectacular to see an upset. I wasn't dissappointed.

If there was a game for Wisconsin to be upset it was that game last year. They had just came off of a fluke loss that likely ended all hopes of a title run, and I believe the Bucks were coming off a bye week. They were primed to be upset in that game.

Oregon is the best in the country at the things our defense is worse at defending. I think our offense would put up some points but our chance of winning would be very low. If we played ten times OSU wins 3 this year. This based on linebacking cores inability to to play in space and our constant defensive breakdowns (even though we have had a lot less in the last 2 games). Our only chance would be if our defensive line dominated like it did in 09.

Your ignoring the fact that our pass defense is horrendous. Take you buckeye blinders off for a second lol Yeah could we win a one game bowl .. Yeah. but the chances are not good. The 2002 national championship team was the best defense OSU has had in my lifetime. You can win a game with good Defense. Its had to when you have a below average pass defense against one of the best spread offenses in the country

I'm not ignoring it. I would expect Oregon to beat us as well. But the great thing about College football is the upsets. And with Urban Meyer as the coach and the fact that the buckeyes put their pants on the same way Oregon does, it gives me hope that with some luck, we could pull it off. IF our team played a complete game (which has yet to happen).

And the fact that our offense played to our oppenents level every week that year too. And our schedule wasn't the strongest either. Like I said, I would bet Oregon wins, but it wouldn't suprise me if we could pull off the upset.

Have a vote - welcome aboard.
Thanks for your service & an obviously interesting post.
While I think OSU loses in the end, I am strangely comfortable at this point in having this particular Buckeye team playing with anyone in the country. They're all heart which will take you a long way in CFB. They also have plenty of talent & tend to play well against better competition. This is a competitive game that OSU loses by a touchdown - maybe less...

"Do not pass me, just slow down - I can move right through you" Superchunk - Precision Auto.

Depends....are we playing them tomorrow or in 3 weeks? If in 3 weeks, OSU can probably win the game. 3 weeks to prepare for a team like Oregon with a good D-line spells trouble for the Ducks. They aren't a gimmick offense, but it is an offense that is difficult to prepare for on a week to week basis, which is why they win the PAC 12 basically every year. It is also why they struggle in early season big games and bowl games. Boise/LSU/Auburn/OSU all beat them either early in a year when the team had an offseason to prepare or in a bowl game. Wisky almost beat them when they were awful on D.
Oregon cannot pass the ball very effectively so whoever above has mentioned that I disagree. Everything they do is predicated on getting into 2nd and 3rd and shorts, which comes mostly from the run game.
I don't need to take my S&G glasses off to see a team who can be stopped with a good D-line, since I've seen it the past 3 years

Edit: And yes, this Oregon team is exactly like the Oregon teams from the past. I don't want to hear it isn't, since Barner is the main force on this team, as he was a huge force all the way back to 09. Replace James with DAT and every QB they have with their freshman qb and you see the same team. You can tell me their O-line play has improved but tell me one decent D-line they've gone against to prove the theory.

OSU could play with anyone in the country, as they have shown when they've played quality competition this year. And yes, that includes Bama, since they predicate everything on running the ball on the inside, which is the thing this OSU team excels at

Exactly. Until this team beats someone with a real defense like Alabama, they will always be the same old Oregon team that has a great offense, but when they play a real D-Line that closes all those holes they've seen all year they don't know what to do. And Oregon's defense would not be able to stop the beast that is Alabama's running game.
I hope when those two teams play for the national championship that Oregon wins so that this sec bs can go away, but honestly I see Alabama as the team that would wear Oregon down, not the other way around.
As for this thread, it would definitely be closer than most people think, but I still think Oregon wins. However, I don't think this game would make it into the 30's. My guess is something like 24 - 20 Oregon.

"Do not pray for an easy life. Rather, pray for the the strength to endure a difficult one" - Bruce Lee

Not saying they have not improved, but at the same time, they've faced Matt Mcgloin and the worst team in the conference. I think the nation's #1 offense might be more of a challenge. Give me one piece of evidence that suggests this defense could contain Oregon.

Urban Meyer is our head coach. But besides that Oregon's strength is running the football and if our defense does one thing very well its defend against the run. Oregon's passing attack doesn't scare me enough not to blitz their QB and as great a runner as their QB is I still think we could keep him contained for the majority of the game.
I've watched almost every game Oregon has played this year, and as great as their offense has looked let's not forget that Oregon hasn't played a good defense all year. Arkansas St, Fresno St, Tennessee Tech, Arizona, Washington St, Washington, Arizona St, Colorado, USC. Do you see a good defense in that list? USC only has a decent defense imo.
Like I said, I don't think we win, but I do think it would be close.

"Do not pray for an easy life. Rather, pray for the the strength to endure a difficult one" - Bruce Lee

I know what you think. I was wondering if you could offer any evidence, any thing this defense has shown, that would make you think it could stop Oregon. And no offense, but you just lose credibility when you say that you wouldn't be afraid to blitz Oregon's QB. If there is one sure-fire way to get torched by Oregon, it's a steady diet of blitzing.

Look at the strength of the rush offenses OSU has played:
#117
#40
#53
#111
#83
#7
#78
#72
#86
#92
That's 7 out of 10 teams in the bottom 30%. Against the one good rushing team we played, we gave up almost 5 ypc, including 8.5 to Burkhead before he went out. I just don't know why people continue to perpetuate the myth that we have a good defense. I know people are used to watching the silver bullets, but that is not the strength of this team by any stretch. We have a very good offense, and a poor defense.

I was curious, so I looked it up.Oregon has not faced any good rushing defenses this year. In order:
Arkansas State- #82
Fresno St- #65
Tenn Tech- FCS team (#99 rush defense in FCS)
Arizona- #87
Wash St- #76
Washington- #92
Arizona St- #75
Colorado- #101
USC- #61
Thats amazingly pathetic. They haven't played a rush defense in the top fifty all year. Oregon State is ranked high in rush defense (I forgot to write it down, but I think top ten) so that will be a good test to see what might happen against Bama's defense. Not saying Oregon States defense is as good as Bama's, just that it is geared toward stopping what Oregon does well.

I would point out though, that it is hard to say how much Oregon is rush-dependent. They have the #2 rush offense and the #70 pass offense, but they get up by so many points really quickly that they often spend three quarters rushing to slow thing down. Their QB has a 70 pct completion pct and 22 pass TDs versus only 5 interceptions. I think they can pass much better than they do, when they need to.

@Buckeyeinannarbor - Respectfully, there is no evidence but if there were, it means nothing. It's a hypothetical situation & past performances don't necessarily equate to the next games outcome. The college game is an unpredictable one in which any team has a shot (however small) on any given day. Team statistics are great & are very valuable, but are not the be all & end all predictor of what will happen on Saturday. I tend to agree OSU might lose this one this year, but I would be plenty confident in having them play with pretty much anyone out there. But hey, maybe next year, this scenario actually happens - it would make for a genuinely exciting NC game...

"Do not pass me, just slow down - I can move right through you" Superchunk - Precision Auto.

Threre isn't enough Kool-Aid in the world to make me confident going in against a team like Oregon--and I was one of the "blind homers" seriously thinking that this team had a solid chance to go undefeated this year.

How do you like wright Patt, AIRFORCENUT? I'm also AF about to PCS to Dover. Wasn't lucky enough to get my BOP to WP approved :/
Onto your question... I think OSU would have a good shot ONLY because we were supposed to get blown out in the Rose Bowl by them and we all know how that went. Pryor had more yards than the entire Oregon offense and I feel that Braxton is a bit better than TP2. Yeah we don't have Sanzenbacher or Posey, but I think Meyer would be able to find a way to hang some points on Oregon's defense without the slightest doubt. We have more weapons and Oregon has only one that I would be concerned about..

I like it here. I'm currently sitting on it as we speak lol. Thats unfortunate that it wasn't approved but i'm sure Dover will be just fine too. Goodluck to you in your travels and for the rest of your career. Thank you very much for your service!

Yah, I keep hearing great things about Dover and at least it's a bit closer to Ohio than where I'm at right now (NM). Appreciate the wishes and good luck to you in your career, also. Thank you for your service!

I didn't mean for it to sound like we were going to lose by 20+. I recall quite a few more people predicting the win in favor of Oregon... Petros Papalakis claimed, "Oregon DESTROYES Ohio State." Colin Cowherd, "Oregon is playing Ohio State in the Rose Bowl which will probably be another thumping for the Big 10..." Bill Plaschke claimed, "Oregon might be the best team in the country at the end of the year." (after Ohio State gets manhandled). Sure sounds like it to me that we were expected to get blown out, wouldn't you agree, Cinci?!

I honestly don't understand how some ppl think this year's team can "play with anyone". We are way too inconsistent on offense(we take at least one quarter off each game), Braxton has a tough time reading complex defenses when throwing...heck even in the run game its almost like he guesses on whether to give it or keep it on zone reads, our D-line is good but is also fairly inconsistent, we have a FB playing MLB, we are bad at open field tackling...the list goes on. We have benefitted from playing in a VERY weak B1G this year. Even Urban has stated numersous times this is a team with a lot of flaws. I think our offense can score points, but our D is just not that good this year...we have struggled against some pretty bad teams this year. It doesn't make you a bad fan to admit that other teams are better...I'm just happy that the season has turned out the way it has and am looking forward to the next two years.

Because IMO the gold standard right now is Bama, and I think that OSU could beat LSU this weekend. Straight up, that is why I think we can play with Bama.
Urban Meyer is the coach for Ohio State. His job is to make the team think they aren't very good so they are motivated to work hard in practice.
This team struggled with giving up the big play earlier in the year. Those problems have not appeared in the past 2 games. Not saying they are totally gone but it's improved. If the next 2 weeks go like the past 2 weeks, will you guys all be singing a different tune?
I believe talent wise that OSU stacks up with every team in the country, and I believe we have a top 5 coaching staff. That should give us a chance against anyone

We may slow their running game, though that O-Line is pretty good, but McCarron, while he doesn't have gawdy numbers, is a damn good passer. They have great skill guys and he doesn't make mistakes. Their WR and TE's would have a field day on short and intermediate routes, then we'd get burnt over the top for a big play or 2. I think Braxton and Hyde would still put up some numbers on that side of the ball but Braxton would have to hit some passes. There's no way we'd be Bama relying on 2-300 yards on the ground against Bama.
This team could MAYBE beat LSU because their QB is pretty horrible, though he played well last weekend, but even that is quite a stretch. I know their game was close, but I don't think LSU is really all that close to Bama. Last year showed, that even though LSU pulled off the W in a close one, Bama was a far better team. We had the benefit of seeing that play out last year. The same holds true this year. LSU gave them their absolute best shot and it still wasn't enough.

I will not be singing a different tune. Will I be happy to be 12-0? Abso-damn-lutely. But that does not change the fact that this team has many glaring weaknesses that we were able to overcome with a weak schedule. Personally, I don't think we are a top 5 team, top 10 yes, but not top 5. The next two years are where this team will make its mark...this year was nice, but not dominant in any way

We remind me pretty strongly of the undefeated Cincy team from a couple years back. Great offense who hadn't really played anyone tough, mediocre defense. A very good team, but not a great one.
I think playing a weak schedule tends to overhype great offenses more than other teams. A great offense going up a bad defense is going to rack up points - but it doesn't say anything about how they hold up against a good defense. A great defense is still probably going to have one slip up a game - no one really notices the difference in the scores between a great defense and an ok one, when going up against weak competition.
A team with a great defense and bad offense will win games against bad competition 14-3. One with great offense and bad defense will beat bad teams by 50-14. One of those looks much more exciting, but neither tells you how the team will fare against a good competitor.

Just saying well people didn't give us a chance in (pick whichever game you want to) isn't really a valid argument to me. Yes, those games we weren't favored and won, so what? That doesn't have any real analysis of either team in question today. Oregon's offense would give our D fits. If you miss a tackle on the speedsters Oregon has, they are going to take it to the house. If you start slow and have 3 possessions in the first quarter with no points. You could be down 3 TD's by the end of the first quarter with Oregon. An offense like IU which is admittedly pretty good was capable of putting up 49 points on this Ohio State D. Things have been better recently, but it's not exactly like we have been playing offensive juggernauts since then.
Other than no one ever giving the Buckeyes a chance in 2002, or the Rose Bowl a few years ago, or Wisconsin last year, why do people think we would line up and beat Oregon. ESPECIALLY, if both teams come with their A games.

Penn State is a pretty good offense this year. They aren't Oregon, but they are pretty good
I believe we could beat Oregon because we have the talent to beat Oregon. We would probably only play 2 LBers against them, and drop a 3rd safety into the game. Their passing game doesn't concern me at all, and their inside run game isn't concerning. Yes their runs to the outside are greatly concerning, but when you know they are coming you at least can gameplan to stop them.
OSU can do things offensively that would give Oregon fits. Talk about ball control; OSU can do it as well as anyone. Oregon's D-line is not as good as PSUs straight up. We controlled the LOS on offense against PSU, so we could control it against Oregon.
Oh...and we have Braxton Miller with the ball in his hands for at least 80 snaps.
I'm not saying we beat Bama or Oregon if we play them, but to say we have no chance is the easy way out. Give Meyer 3 weeks to gameplan and I think we can figure out their schemes and at least have an idea of how to work against it

Their inside run game isn't concerning, and we would control the LOS? What Oregon team have you been watching? Oregon would score 80 points on our D. Also, PSU is ranked 63rd in points scored. They put up 14 against Ohio.

Yes we would control the LOS. What team has run up the gut on this team???? Not a one. Our D-line has problems controlling outside runs. I've been watching an Oregon team that has beaten up on a bunch of bad teams from teh PAC. They have played 1 of the best 4 teams in the conference.
Haha, you are bringing up the first game of PSUs season after their offseason? Thy are absolutely much improved from that time, and have been scoring in the high 30s since the 3rd of the season. Just because teams don't score 70 doesn't mean they can't do so. It's like people forget that the greatest offenses in history have been destroyed by well disciplined Ds with D-lines that can control the LOS and stop the run
You dont like the answer I give, but give me 1 piece of evidence that we would give up 80? Oregon underperforms in every big bowl game and huge game they have. look at their point totals in the last 3 bowl games and against LSU/Boise. Then tell me they'd put up 80

how do you beat a team like oregon? superior trench play. that's how we beat them in the rose bowl and how auburn beat them in the NCG. the two units this year where we have an advantage on them would be o-line and d-line. i wouldn't discount our chances - we would be dogs for sure, but i like our chances against oregon waaay more than against a team like bama.
show me a team that oregon has beaten this year that has good (not even dominant) trench play. not a one. mark my words, oregon will NOT win the national title unless the matchup is oregon vs kansas state.

the kids are playing their tail off, and the coaches are screwing it up! - JLS

So you think Ohio State would be better in the trenches againt Oregon than K-State? I think K-State has proved themselves quite often this year against some very good offensive teams. If anything I think K-State is what Ohio State would be this year if Ohio State was playing great football on both sides of the ball.
The only team in the top 5 I think we would beat and could be favored in is Notre Dame. Bama, Oregon, and K-State would give us fits.

But we're running different schemes now than we were at Indiana, so that's not really a good reference point. Also Indiana threw the ball a lot as opposed to running it.
The thing that I think we'd have a hard time with would be their playmakers catching the ball out in space. We've had trouble with that this season, and just because we haven't played any real playmakers the last couple of weeks doesn't mean we fixed the problem.
My thought (which I posted earlier) was that I thought we could disrupt the Oregon running game. Indiana didn't run all over us (I think they had like 130 yards for the game, 60 of which came on one play. The other 23 runs got 70 yards. ). Nor has anyone, other than Cal (which I am not considering since we are night and day better on d now).The run is Oregon's bread and butter (their passing offense is 76th in the country), so if we can discrupt that and ruin their rhythm, I think we have a chance. And I think our front 7 have a chance to do that, if they play like they have the last couple of weeks. BUT, we'd need consistent play/tackling from the safeties as well. That's always a concern, though I think we've made huge strides in that area since Barnet came back at 100%.
It's always about matchups, and the best part of our defense is rush defense. The best part about the Oregon o is their rush offense. So it'd be strength on strength. Who knows how that would fall out? Nobody, but if you actually take a minute to look at it, you can have a rational argument for why we'd have a chance.

It's an opinion of mine, just as valid as yours. It is based on the observations from Oregon's losses to good teams over the last couple of seasons (or even games which they struggle in). I don't know for sure that we'd be able to disrupt the run game, just like you don't know for sure that we couldn't. I have noticed how frequently Hankins and company are in the opposition backfield lately, so I think the Oregon oline would at least have a challenge.
Your opinion isn't reality either, it's just your opinion.

My opinions aren't a knock on this Ohio State team, this is truly one of my favorite Buckeye teams I've ever had the pleasure to watch. I love t his year's team, but when I look at matchups I always think, how would it play out if both teams played their best football. Obviously, that's not how it plays out on the field, but I can't predict a team not showing up or errors on the field etc. I have to say to myself if Oregon comes out and plays their best game and we do the same, who would win? Same with Bama and K-State and Notre Dame. Based on what I've seen with my eyes this season, the only team I think if I break it down, that I would be confident in Ohio State beating is Notre Dame. I absolutely think Ohio State could beat Notre Dame. Is it possible they could beat the others, sure, in one game it's always possible for any team to win. Is it probable, I doubt it.

I don't think anyone is saying it is probable that we would be Oregon (I actually don't think it's probable we'd beat any of the teams you listed, including ND). All I was saying is that it's possible, and not completely far fetched, that we could stay with Oregon. It requires two things that have started to happen more lately: our dline getting penetration, and solid fundamentals and tackling. We're getting better at that every week. I think we would still have breakdowns and they'd get some big plays, but until I see someone run all over us at this point in the season, I'd say our chances of stopping a good run game are 50:50 at least.

It's all about matchups, I think OSU would compete. Offensively I think we would be able to control the line of scrimmage and clock by running a lot w/ Hyde/Smith/Hall and Miller. Defensively they would probably score a lot on us, but you never know. I remember when we played them in the Rose Bowl we were suppose to get killed considering we lost to USC at home that year, and Oregon dominated them.. but then again that same year, Oregon only beat Purdue at home I believe by 2 or 3, something like 35-33. And Purdue finished that year w/ 6 or 7 losses but if I remember right most were by a TD or less. So it just depends, but I bet OSU could hang. The only team right now I don't think we could compete with is Bama. I think they would dominate the line of scrimmage against us both offensively and defensively.

I understand that but what makes you think we can compete with them..don't say because we're undefeated because that's bologna. Our defense wouldn't be able to stop them..period. They've shown they can hold slow paced non spread teams (Sparty/penn state) to lower scores but teams with far less talent than Oregon have ran up and down the field on the Buckeyes. Our offense is good but they can't go score for score with Oregon..USC has a first round QB with two 1st round WR's and couldn't do it:

I agree with you and I think we would lose. I do NOT expect us to win. I'm just simply talking what if's... I'm assuming you would also say App St would never beat Michigan am I right? All i said was what would happen if Oregon played their worst game of the year and we played our best, would anyone think we could win? I never said I thought we could.

I try to be the most realistic person I can be lol but yes i'm just saying what if because I would love to see it happen. We will never know this year though unfortunately.. I'm just trying to get a conversation started and with the 80+ comments.. i think i've succeded lol

Thats one thing about this year that can be frustrating but at the same time amazing. If we go undefeated we will never know how good we actually are but at the same time no one can tell us we're not the best team in the country this year because no one will ever know. But only if we finish 12-0.

I'm just trying to figure out why people think we'd shut down their running game. One team that had similar talent at RB in terms of speed was Cal, and I know we can conveniently toss that game away because it was long ago, but they have some speedy shifty guys who torched this D. Another quality RB that was torching this D was Burkhead from Nebraska. He got hurt and that game changed quite a bit after his exit. The only other quality back that I can think of that this D faced was Bell. They did do well against him but after he had a couple great games to start the year people on this site were ripping him for not being that good because he couldn't break away from defenders for long TD's. So, while yeah we've been good against the run for teams like Penn State, when we've faced athletic speedy backs, and not just between the tackle plodders, the D hasn't done that well.

I don't know that the line would be that big. I mean the 2002 game with Miami we were 12 point underdogs I think. That was supposedly the greatest NCAA football team ever. I wouldn't be surpirsed by a 10-12 point line though.

I was going to say the same thing that BT just said - anyone remember '02? It's big time college football and pretty much anyone could beat anyone ONE game. My money would have to be on Oregon if forced to bet, but you never know and I would hope for the best.

First off, Thank you for your service... I still think OSU would be too physical for Oregon, just like in 2010. They would score 35 probably because they are dynamic. I think out Oline would dominate and we would score 50...